The Simple Conversation That Will Cure Your Fear of Failure

If I said one of the hardest things about making your dream, or your small business, or your blog, or whatever, happen was just doing it, would you believe me?

Because the truth is, that is the hardest part. And ironically, that is the one big thing standing in your way. Just executing. Nobody can argue with execution. Once you’re getting shit done, you’re on your way.

But taking that first step can be terrifying. I get it. I really do. Fear of failure can take over. And lots of us have this fear.

But the real question you should be asking yourself is: Who are you afraid to fail in front of?

Your mom? Best friend? A sibling? A mentor? That is what holds people back. That their choice won’t be accepted by someone they admire or look up to.

You might think you’re doing so well because you have a nice, solid life and your loved ones accept it and support it. And maybe you’ve achieved your dream and that’s amazing. But you can’t give a shit about what other people think of you. Yes, not even your parents. If you truly trust and believe in yourself, you will learn to do this and they will learn to accept your decisions. And if you fail and people laugh at you, they’re not worth your time. Ignore them.

People will criticize you. They will say mean things, maybe even if hateful things because they’re jealous you’re getting out there and doing your thing. And that’s okay. It’s all okay. You’re doing you and they don’t affect that.

So fear of failure is established early on, but next, it becomes fear of failure in front of whom. And when you figure out who that is, I would go talk to them. Straight up. Speak to them directly, face to face.

You sit down with them. And this is what you say: “I’m about to do this thing, and the only reason I haven’t done it yet is because I don’t want to let you down. This is a long journey, and I know I’m going to make it in the end, but I just need to make sure that if I fail at one step, your response to that failure doesn’t crush me.”

Because that’s really what it is. Make sure that person will bring you back up, not keep you down.

This article was originally published on Medium. It has been republished here with permission.

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Gary Vaynerchuk has built businesses all his life: In his 20s, he grew his family liquor store from $3 million to $45 million in 5 years, launching WineLibrary.com, one of America's first wine e-commerce sites. In 2009, he co-founded VaynerMedia, a social-first digital agency which helps brands market in the year we live in. An angel investor and adviser to some of the most successful tech startups since social media’s early days, Gary has counseled and invested in more than 50 tech startups including Twitter, Tumblr, Medium, Birchbox, Uber and Venmo. In 2014, Gary launched $25 million seed fund VaynerRSE to continue his successful investing career.